Muscle testing, or kinesiology, has grown in popularity over the last 30 years. It’s a simple, non-invasive assessment tool used by many different kinds of health practitioners during examination or evaluation…

Clinical hypnotherapy can be defined as being a combination of both hypnosis and psychological intervention.
Katy Silberger
November 21, 2012

The term hypnosis often leads to visions of willing participants engaging in outrageous and embarrassing stunts at the command of a hypnotist. But while this practice of humiliating participants on stage…

Reflexology is a form of manual therapy based on the principle that specific locations on the feet, hands and ears have connections to the rest of the body. By applying pressure to these locations using…

Calendula (marigold), lavendar and rosemary are used by practitioners of Western herbal medicine.
Smoobs/Flickr
November 7, 2012

PANACEA OR PLACEBO – A weekly series assessing the evidence behind complementary and alternative medicines. Herbs have been used for therapeutic purposes in most cultures for hundreds and even thousands…

There is no convincing evidence that the therapy works.
Cafemama
October 31, 2012

PANACEA OR PLACEBO – A weekly series assessing the evidence behind complementary and alternative medicines. Aromatherapy is based on the idea that aromatic substances, usually the essential oils of plants…

The idea of Chi (life force) flowing through meridians has an allegorical quality and the appeal of an ancient provenance.
jacqueline/Flickr
October 30, 2012

A recent, rather flattering, article on acupuncture on this website holds a mirror to a broader problem in the world of acupuncture research. A problem that goes to the heart of the most fundamental scientific…

Most people see chiropractors for spine pain or other musculoskeletal conditions.
Michael Dorausch
October 24, 2012

PANACEA OR PLACEBO – A weekly series assessing the evidence behind complementary and alternative medicines. Colonic therapy – also known as colonic irrigation, colonic hydrotherapy or a high enema – is…

Modern research techniques are looking for evidence of efficacy for this 2,500-year-old practice.
Peter Fasano
October 10, 2012

PANACEA OR PLACEBO – A weekly series assessing the evidence behind complementary and alternative medicines. Acupuncture has been practiced in China for over 2,500 years. During the reign of Emperor Huang…

Some of the techniques that form the armamentarium of myotherapy are supported by some positive evidence.
o5com
October 3, 2012

PANACEA OR PLACEBO – A weekly series assessing the evidence behind complementary and alternative medicines. Myotherapy was developed by American Bonnie Prudden in the 1970s as a system of treating painful…